Notification control device, notification control system, notification control method, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

A notification control device includes a first communication status detector configured to detect a status of a first communication protocol of communication between a first device and a second device in a process control system, and a second communication status detector configured to detect a status of a second communication protocol of the communication. The first communication status detector inputs into an operation monitoring terminal first notification information to which tag information is added on the basis of notification common information in which a status of the first communication protocol, a status of the second communication protocol, and the tag information are associated and the detected status of first communication protocol. The second communication status detector inputs into the operation monitoring terminal second notification information to which the tag information is added on the basis of the notification common information and the detected status of second communication protocol.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a notification control device, anotification control system, a notification control method, and astorage medium.

The present application claims priority based on Japanese patentapplication 2017-184651, filed on Sep. 26, 2017 and includes herein byreference the content thereof.

Description of Related Art

A system having a safety control function of outputting each of an alarmgenerated by an abnormality detection logic of safety communication andan alarm generated by an abnormality detection logic of a black channelwhen a safety communication abnormality occurs in safety communicationvia a black channel has been provided in a safety instrumented system(SIS) installed in a plant or the like.

The black channel is a communication path based on a principle of theblack channel and is shown to be unaffected by a physical layer or atransmission speed in communication. Therefore, in the black channel,safety-related communication is not affected by a bus system or anetwork device.

Safety communication is safety-related communication adopting the blackchannel. The safety communication is, for example, safety communicationwhich is performed using “PROFIsafe (registered trademark)” protocol by“PROFINET (registered trademark)” which is industrial Ethernet(registered trademark) defined and managed by PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINETInternational) or the like. See Specified nonprofit corporation, JapanProfibus Association, “PROFIsafe-Safety Technology for PROFIBUS andPROFINET System Description, Japanese Edition Version 20”, July 2007.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an alarm notification process ofthe safety control system according to the related art. As shown, thesafety control system according to the related art includes aproducing-side safety control station (SCS), a consuming-side safetycontrol station, an operation monitoring terminal, and an engineeringterminal. A “producing side” refers to a data transmission side and a“consuming side” refers to a data reception side.

In communication between safety control stations (hereinafter referredto as “inter-SCS communication”), safety communication is performedbetween a producing-side functional block of the producing-side safetycontrol station and a consuming-side functional block of theconsuming-side safety control station and data is securely exchanged atnormal times. A transmission source and a reception destination of dataare set by an engineer from the engineering terminal.

When end-to-end safety communication is performed between theproducing-side functional block and the consuming-side functional block,a safety communication abnormality also occurs as a result of a pathabnormality if a path abnormality occurs within a black channel which isa communication path configured for safety communication.

At this time, the operation monitoring terminal detects a pathabnormality and generates alarm information indicating the pathabnormality. The consuming-side functional block for diagnosing a safetycommunication abnormality detects a safety communication abnormality andgenerates alarm information indicating the safety communicationabnormality. Each generated alarm is displayed on a monitor of theoperation monitoring terminal.

However, although it is possible to cause the monitor of the operationmonitoring terminal to display the alarm of a safety communicationabnormality and the alarm of a path abnormality in such a configurationof the safety control system according to the related art, it is notpossible to display information for associating these alarms. Thus, inthe related art, it is difficult for an operator to determine whether ornot the alarm of a safety communication abnormality and the alarm of apath abnormality are alarms caused by the same cause (path abnormality).

The alarm of a safety communication abnormality is generated when thesafety layer detects an abnormality from the diagnosis of prescribedsafety measurement. However, it is difficult to identify a cause of theoccurrence of an abnormality and a position of the occurrence of aspecific abnormality from the diagnosis of safety measurement only. Forexample, an alarm for providing a notification of the occurrence of atimeout of safety communication and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)abnormality of safety data can provide a notification of the occurrenceof an event in which data security cannot be secured, but cannot providea cause of the occurrence of an event. On the other hand, on the blackchannel side, it is possible to detect the occurrence of a pathabnormality leading to the occurrence of a safety communicationabnormality and to have information leading to identification of aposition of the occurrence by using various diagnostic methods.

To enable the operator to determine whether or not a plurality of piecesof alarm information is alarm information provided through notificationsdue to the same cause (the occurrence of a path abnormality), anoperation of associating the plurality of pieces of alarm information byusing design information used when a system is constructed (for example,a system configuration diagram as shown in FIG. 15) or the like isrequired. Thus, there are cases in which association of the plurality ofpieces of alarm information is time-consuming. As a result of the timetaken to associate an alarm of a safety communication abnormality withan alarm of a path abnormality, it can be assumed that there may besituations in which troubleshooting is delayed.

The present invention provides a notification control device, anotification control system, a notification control method, and astorage medium capable of outputting information in which notificationinformation generated by different detection logics for the same eventare associated.

A notification control device according to a first aspect of the presentinvention may include a first communication status detector configuredto detect a status of a first communication protocol of communicationbetween a first device and a second device in a process control system,and a second communication status detector configured to detect a statusof a second communication protocol different from the firstcommunication protocol of the communication. The first communicationstatus detector may be configured to input into an operation monitoringterminal first notification information to which tag information isadded on the basis of notification common information in which a statusof the first communication protocol, a status of the secondcommunication protocol, and the tag information are associated and thedetected status of the first communication protocol. The secondcommunication status detector may be configured to input into theoperation monitoring terminal second notification information to whichthe tag information is added on the basis of the notification commoninformation and the detected status of the second communicationprotocol.

In the above-described notification control device, the status of thefirst communication protocol detected by the first communication statusdetector and the status of the second communication protocol detected bythe second communication status detector may be statuses based on thesame condition of the communication.

In the above-described notification control device, the first device maybe a controller and the second device may be a field device.

In the above-described notification control device, the firstcommunication protocol may be a communication protocol of safetycommunication, and the first communication status detector may beconfigured to detect a status of the safety communication.

In the above-described notification control device, the secondcommunication status detector may be configured to detect a status of acommunication path in the communication.

The above-described notification control device may further include analarm generation pre-notifier configured to generate a pre-notificationalarm indicating a pre-notification of the status of the firstcommunication protocol on the basis of the tag information associatedwith the status of the second communication protocol in a case where thesecond communication status detector has detected the status of thesecond communication protocol.

The above-described notification control device may further include acommon information automatic setter configured to determine whether ornot notifications of the detected status of the first communicationprotocol and the detected status of the second communication protocolhave been provided due to the same cause and add common tag informationwith respect to the detected status of the first communication protocoland the detected status of the second communication protocol in a casewhere the common information automatic setter determines that thenotifications have been provided due to the same cause.

In the above-described notification control device, informationindicating a notification priority on the basis of the firstnotification information or the second notification information may befurther associated with the notification common information.

In the above-described notification control device, informationindicating an area where the second device is installed may be furtherassociated with the notification common information.

The above-described notification control device, may further include arestoration controller configured to collectively update the firstnotification information and the second notification informationgenerated on the basis of the status of the first communication protocoland the status of the second communication protocol associated with thesame tag information.

A notification control system according to a second aspect of thepresent invention may include a first device, a second device, anotification control device, and an operation monitoring terminal in aprocess control system. The notification control device may include afirst communication status detector configured to detect a status of afirst communication protocol of communication between the first deviceand the second device, and a second communication status detectorconfigured to detect a status of a second communication protocoldifferent from the first communication protocol of the communication.The first communication status detector may be configured to input intothe operation monitoring terminal first notification information towhich tag information is added on the basis of notification commoninformation in which a status of the first communication protocol, astatus of the second communication protocol, and the tag information areassociated and the detected status of the first communication protocol.The second communication status detector may be configured to input intothe operation monitoring terminal second notification information towhich the tag information is added on the basis of the notificationcommon information and the detected status of the second communicationprotocol.

The above-described notification control system may further include acommunication module configured to store the status of the secondcommunication protocol. The second communication status detector may beconfigured to refer to the status of the second communication protocolstored in the communication module to detect the status of the secondcommunication protocol.

The above-described notification control system may further include anengineering terminal configured to associate the status of the firstcommunication protocol, the status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information.

A notification control method using a computer according to a thirdaspect of the present invention may include detecting a status of afirst communication protocol of communication between a first device anda second device in a process control system, detecting a status of asecond communication protocol different from the first communicationprotocol of the communication, inputting into an operation monitoringterminal first notification information to which tag information isadded on the basis of notification common information in which a statusof the first communication protocol, a status of the secondcommunication protocol, and the tag information are associated and thedetected status of the first communication protocol, and inputting intothe operation monitoring terminal second notification information towhich the tag information is added on the basis of the notificationcommon information and the detected status of the second communicationprotocol.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to a fourthaspect of the present invention may include store a notification controlprogram, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer toperform detecting a status of a first communication protocol ofcommunication between a first device and a second device in a processcontrol system, detecting a status of a second communication protocoldifferent from the first communication protocol of the communication,inputting into an operation monitoring terminal first notificationinformation to which tag information is added on the basis ofnotification common information in which a status of the firstcommunication protocol, a status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information are associated and the detected status of thefirst communication protocol, and inputting into the operationmonitoring terminal second notification information to which the taginformation is added on the basis of the notification common informationand the detected status of the second communication protocol.

According to the one aspect of the present invention, it is possible tooutput information in which notification information generated bydifferent detection logics for the same event are associated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of asafety control system according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of alarm commoninformation stored in a safety control station of the safety controlsystem according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of temporaryinformation stored in a communication module of the safety controlsystem according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an alarm informationdisplay screen displayed on an operation monitoring terminal of thesafety control system according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a position of theoccurrence of an abnormality identified by the safety control systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing an operation of a safety control stationof the safety control system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing an operation of a safety control stationof the safety control system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a determination logic to be used by anoperator when an event is determined on the basis of alarm informationprovided through a notification of the safety control system accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of details of an event determinedby the determination logic shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of asafety control system according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of priorityinformation stored in a safety control station of the safety controlsystem according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an alarminformation display screen displayed on an operation monitoring terminalof the safety control system according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of asafety control system according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of areainformation stored in a safety control station of the safety controlsystem according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an alarminformation display screen displayed on an operation monitoring terminalof the safety control system according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an alarm notification process ofa safety control system according to a related art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

Although a safety control system 1 a provided in a safety instrumentedsystem installed in a plant will be described as an example in thepresent embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto and thepresent invention may be applied to any safety control system includinga plurality of abnormality detection logics (for example, a distributedcontrol system (DCS) or the like).

[Configuration of Safety Control System]

Hereinafter, an overall configuration of a safety control system 1 awill be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration ofthe safety control system 1 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown, the safety control system 1 a (a notification control system)includes a safety control station 10 (a controller (a first device)), anoperation monitoring terminal 20, an engineering terminal 30, fieldwireless devices 40-1 to 40-3 with safety communication function (seconddevices) (hereinafter, simply referred to as “field wireless devices 40with safety communication function” unless it is necessary todistinguish them separately) and field wireless access points 50-1 and50-2 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “field wireless access points50” unless it is necessary to distinguish them separately), a fieldwireless management station 60, and a communication module 70.

As shown in FIG. 1, communication connections between the safety controlstation 10, the operation monitoring terminal 20, the engineeringterminal 30, and the communication module 70 are established via acontrol bus. A communication connection between the communication module70 and the field wireless management station 60 is established throughPROFINET (registered trademark) which is industrial Ethernet (registeredtrademark) defined by PI. Communication connections between the fieldwireless access point 50, the field wireless management station 60, andthe field wireless device 40 with safety communication function areestablished through a communication network defined by InternationalSociety of Automation (ISA) 100.11a which is a wireless communicationstandard.

As shown in FIG. 1, because a path between the safety control station 10and the field wireless device 40 with safety communication function is acommunication path based on a principle of the black channel, aconfiguration different from the above-described configuration may beprovided.

Although end-to-end safety communication is performed between aproducing-side functional block and a consuming-side functional block inthe above-described related art, communication between a safety layer103 of the safety control station 10 to be described below and the fieldwireless device 40 with safety communication function is assumed to be atarget of end-to-end safety communication in the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the safety control station 10 (a notificationcontrol device) according to the present embodiment detects a status ofsafety communication such as a safety communication abnormality incommunication with the field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function (a status of a first communication protocol). Forexample, the safety control station 10 detects the timeout of safetycommunication, the occurrence of a CRC abnormality of safety data, andthe like. The safety communication is performed using, for example, acommunication protocol based on PROFIsafe (registered trademark).

The safety control station 10 detects a status of a communication pathsuch as a path abnormality in the communication (a status of a secondcommunication protocol). For example, the safety control station 10detects the occurrence of a path abnormality leading to the occurrenceof a safety communication abnormality, a position of the occurrencethereof, and the like. The safety control station 10 generates a safetycommunication abnormality alarm (first notification information) towhich tag information is added on the basis of alarm common information(notification common information) in which the status of the firstcommunication protocol, the status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information are associated and the detected status of thefirst communication protocol and outputs the generated safetycommunication abnormality alarm to the operation monitoring terminal 20.The safety control station 10 generates a path abnormality alarm (secondnotification information) to which tag information is added on the basisof the alarm common information and the detected status of the secondcommunication protocol and outputs the generated path abnormality alarmto the operation monitoring terminal 20.

The term “abnormality” described here indicates a state that is not anormal status.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a safety communicationabnormality alarm is necessarily generated and issued if a safetycommunication abnormality has occurred and a path abnormality alarm isnecessarily generated and issued if a path abnormality has occurred.

In this manner, the safety control station 10 according to the presentembodiment outputs information in which alarm information (taginformation) generated through detection of a plurality of differentdetection logics with respect to the same event is associated.Hereinafter, the configuration of the safety control station 10 will bedescribed in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the safety control station 10 includes an alarmgenerator 100. The alarm generator 100 has the above-described functionof detecting a status of safety communication, detecting a status of acommunication path (hereinafter also simply referred to as a “path”),generating a safety communication alarm, and generating a pathabnormality alarm.

As shown in FIG. 1, the alarm generator 100 includes an alarm commoninformation storage 101, a path alarm generator 102, and the safetylayer 103.

The alarm common information storage 101 stores alarm common informationt1. The alarm common information storage 101 includes a storage medium,for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, an electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)), a random accessread/write memory (RAM: readable/writable memory), a read only memory(ROM), or any combination of these storage media.

The configuration of the alarm common information t1 will be describedbelow.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the alarmcommon information t1 stored in the safety control station 10 of thesafety control system 1 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown, the alarm common information t1 is two-dimensional tabulardata in which five items of a tag (“Tag A”, “Tag B”, “Tag C”, or thelike) and a type of data (“Data 1”, “Data 2”, “Data 3” or the like), amemory position of data (a “memory position of Data 1”, a “memoryposition of Data 2”, a “memory position of Data 3”, or the like), astatus of safety communication (a “status of safety communication ofData 1”, a “status of safety communication of Data 2”, a “status of thesafety communication of Data 3”, or the like), and a status of a path (a“status of a path of Data 1”, a “status of a path of Data 2”, a “statusof a path of Data 3”, or the like) are associated.

In the item of the type of data, information indicating the type of datais stored as a value. That is, in the item of the type of data,information indicating a field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function which is a source of an input value orinformation indicating a field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function which is a destination of an output value isstored as a value. For example, in the item of the type of data,information indicating “which process value item (for example, ameasurement item) of which field wireless device with safetycommunication function” is stored.

In the item of the tag, a value set in association with the item of theabove-described type of data (for example, any character string) isstored by a user (an engineer). The user makes a setting for associatinga tag with the item of the type of data with the alarm commoninformation setter 300 provided in the engineering terminal 30.

In the safety control system 1 a, it is desirable that the tag have aunique value. For example, a device tag may be set as the tag. Becausethe device tag has a unique value in the system, it becomes appropriatetag information as a key when a related alarm is associated. Because thedevice tag is given within an alarm message, there is an advantage thatthe user (an operator) can easily identify a position where anabnormality occurs.

In the item of the memory position of the data, so-called pointerinformation indicating a memory position where actual data associatedwith the information stored as the value of the item of theabove-described type of data (raw data (for example, a process value))is stored is stored as a value. A value obtained from the field wirelessdevice 40 with safety communication function (raw data) is stored, forexample, in the storage (not shown) of the safety control station 10.The value obtained from the field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function (raw data) may be stored in an external device(not shown).

In the item of the status of the safety communication, informationindicating the latest status of the safety communication detected by thesafety layer 103 is stored as a value.

In the item of the status of the path, information indicating the lateststatus of the path detected by the path alarm generator 102 is stored asa value.

Description will be given with reference to FIG. 1 again.

The path alarm generator 102 (a second communication status detector)acquires information indicating the status of the path from thecommunication module 70 periodically (for example, every 250milliseconds), thereby detecting the latest status of the path. The pathalarm generator 102 updates the status of the path stored in theabove-described alarm common information t1 according to the acquiredinformation indicating the status of the path.

The safety layer 103 (a first communication status detector)periodically detects the status of safety communication with the fieldwireless device 40 with safety communication function via the blackchannel. The safety layer 103 updates the status of the safetycommunication of the alarm common information t1 stored in theabove-described alarm common information storage 101 according to theacquired information indicating the status of the safety communication.

The operation monitoring terminal 20 includes a monitor 200. Theoperation monitoring terminal 20 acquires various types of alarminformation from the safety control station 10 via the control bus.

The operation monitoring terminal 20 causes the monitor 200 to displayvarious types of acquired alarm information. Various types of acquiredalarm information may be output by, for example, a speaker or the like,by speech.

The operation monitoring terminal 20 includes an information processingdevice, for example, a general-purpose computer or a personal computer.The operation monitoring terminal 20 may include a portable informationprocessing device, for example, a smartphone, a tablet type compactinformation terminal, or the like.

The monitor 200 includes a display, for example, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, a cathoderay tube (CRT), or the like.

The engineering terminal 30 includes an alarm common information setter300. The user (the engineer) defines a value of the item of the “type ofdata” of the above-described alarm common information t1 with the alarmcommon information setter 300 and sets any value for the item of the“tag” (tag information) with respect to the defined value. Informationindicating the value of the item of the “type of data” and the value ofthe item of the “tag” associated by the user is transmitted to the alarmgenerator 100 of the safety control station 10 via the control bus. Whenthe information transmitted from the engineering terminal 30 isacquired, the alarm generator 100 adds the value of the item of the“type of data” and the value of the item of “tag” based on the acquiredinformation to the item of the “type of data” and the item of the “tag”of the alarm common information t1 stored in the alarm commoninformation storage 101.

The value of the item of the memory position of the data described aboveis set by the operation monitoring terminal 20, for example, at thetiming at which the tag information has been set. Information indicatingthe value of the item of the memory position of the data output from theoperation monitoring terminal 20 is transmitted to the safety controlstation 10 via the control bus and set in the alarm common informationt1 of the alarm common information storage 101. Also, the safety controlstation 10 transmits information indicating the value of the item of thememory position of the data to the communication module 70 via thecontrol bus.

The engineering terminal 30 includes an information processing device,for example, a general-purpose computer or a personal computer. Theengineering terminal 30 may include a portable information processingdevice, for example, a smartphone, a tablet type compact informationterminal, or the like.

The alarm common information setter 300 includes a member capable ofreceiving an operation input from the user, for example, a keyboard, amouse, a pointing device, a touch panel, or the like.

The field wireless device 40 with safety communication function is afield device capable of performing wireless communication in conformancewith safety communication. In particular, the field wireless device 40with safety communication function performs safety communication withthe safety layer 103 of the safety control station 10. The fieldwireless device 40 with safety communication function establishes acommunication connection with the field wireless access point 50 througha communication network defined in ISA 100.11a and transmits data suchas measured process values.

The field wireless device 40 with safety communication functionincludes, for example, a measurement device such as a flow meter or apressure gauge.

The field wireless access point 50 establishes a communicationconnection with the field wireless device 40 with safety communicationfunction via a communication network defined in ISA 100.11a to acquiredata such as a process value. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the fieldwireless access point 50-1 establishes a communication connection withthe field wireless devices 40-1 to 40-2 with safety communicationfunction and the field wireless access point 50-2 establishes acommunication connection with the field wireless device 40-3 with safetycommunication function.

The field wireless access point 50 establishes a communicationconnection with the field wireless management station 60 through acommunication network defined in ISA 100.11a and transmits data such asthe above-described acquired process value.

The field wireless management station 60 establishes a communicationconnection with the field wireless access point 50 through acommunication network defined in ISA 100.11a to acquire data such as aprocess value measured by the field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function. The field wireless management station 60transmits data such as the above-described acquired process value to thecommunication module 70 via PROFINET (registered trademark).

The field wireless management station 60 periodically determines thestatus of the path by monitoring the status of the communicationconnection with the field wireless access point 50. The field wirelessmanagement station 60 transmits information indicating the determinedstatus of the path to the communication module 70 via PROFINET(registered trademark).

The information indicating the status of the path described here isinformation in which a plurality of pieces of information (indicatingthe statuses of the paths) is accumulated. Consequently, informationindicating an element which is at a position of an abnormality isrequired to be included in information indicating the status of the pathwhen an abnormality occurs if there are a plurality of elements on thepath. It is possible to determine which position is a position of anabnormality according to an error code added when an abnormality hasbeen detected.

The communication module 70 includes a temporary information storage700.

The temporary information storage 700 stores temporary information t2.The temporary information storage 700 includes a storage medium, forexample, an HDD, a flash memory, an EEPROM, a RAM, a ROM, or anycombination of these storage media.

Hereinafter, a configuration of the temporary information t2 will bedescribed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the temporaryinformation t2 stored in the communication module 70 of the safetycontrol system 1 a according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown, the temporary information t2 is two-dimensional tabular datain which three items of a type of data (“Data 1”, “Data 2”, “Data 3” orthe like), a memory position of data (a “memory position of Data 1”, a“memory position of Data 2”, a “memory position of Data 3”, or thelike), and a status of a path (a “status of a path of Data 1”, a “statusof a path of Data 2”, a “status of a path of Data 3”, or the like) areassociated.

The item of the type of data is an item corresponding to the item of thetype of data set in the alarm common information t1 shown in FIG. 2, andinformation indicating a type of data is stored as a value in the itemof the type of data. That is, in the item of the type of data,information indicating a field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function which is a source of an input value orinformation indicating a field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function which is a source of an output value is stored asa value. For example, in the item of the type of data, informationindicating “which process value item (for example, a measurement item)of which field wireless device with safety communication function” isstored.

In the item of the memory position of the data, so-called pointerinformation indicating a memory position where actual data correspondingto the information stored as the value of the item of theabove-described type of data (raw data (for example, a process value))is stored is stored as a value. A value obtained from the field wirelessdevice 40 with safety communication function (raw data) is temporarilystored, for example, in the storage (not shown) of the communicationmodule 70.

In the item of the status of the path, information indicating the lateststatus of the path (between the field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function and the field wireless management station 60)determined by the field wireless management station 60 is stored as avalue. In the item of the status of the path, information indicating thelatest status of the path between the field wireless management station60 and the communication module 70 determined by the communicationmodule 70 is stored as a value.

Description will be given with reference to FIG. 1 again.

The communication module 70 acquires data (raw data) such as processvalues measured by the field wireless device 40 with safetycommunication function from the field wireless management station 60 viaPROFINET (registered trademark). The communication module 70 transmitsdata such as the acquired process values to the safety control station10 via the control bus.

The communication module 70 acquires information indicating the statusof the path determined by the field wireless management station 60 fromthe field wireless management station 60 via PROFINET (registeredtrademark). The communication module 70 determines the status of thepath between the field wireless management station 60 and thecommunication module 70, and generates information indicating thedetermined status of the path. The communication module 70 updates thestatus of the path of the temporary information t2 stored in thetemporary information storage 700 according to information indicatingthe acquired status of the path and information indicating thedetermined status of the path.

As described above, the information indicating the status of the path isinformation in which a plurality of pieces of information (indicatingthe status of the path) are accumulated. Consequently, informationindicating an element which is a position of an abnormality is requiredto be included in information indicating the status of the path when theabnormality occurs if there are a plurality of elements on the path. Asdescribed above, it is possible to determine which position is aposition of an abnormality according to an error code added when anabnormality has been detected.

The path alarm generator 102 of the alarm generator 100 of the safetycontrol station 10 acquires information indicating the status of thepath periodically (for example, every 250 ms) from the temporaryinformation t2 stored in the temporary information storage 700 of thecommunication module 70. The path alarm generator 102 updates the statusof the path stored in the alarm common information t1 stored in thealarm common information storage 101 of the alarm generator 100according to the acquired information indicating the status of the path.

Although the communication module 70 includes the temporary informationstorage 700 and temporarily stores information indicating the status ofthe path or the like in the present embodiment, the present invention isnot limited thereto. For example, every time the communication module 70acquires information indicating the status of the path from the fieldwireless management station 60 and every time the communication module70 generates information indicating the status of the path between thefield wireless management station 60 and the communication module 70,the acquired information indicating the status of the path and thegenerated information indicating the status of the path may besequentially transmitted to the safety control station 10 via thecontrol bus.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, it is assumed that a path abnormalityhas occurred between the field wireless device 40-3 with safetycommunication function and the field wireless access point 50-2.

In this case, the safety layer 103 detects a safety communicationabnormality caused by a path abnormality. The safety layer 103 updatesthe status of the safety communication of the alarm common informationt1 stored in the alarm common information storage 101 described aboveaccording to the acquired information indicating the status of thesafety communication.

In this case, the field wireless management station 60 monitors thestatus of a communication connection with the field wireless accesspoint 50-2, and transmits information indicating the status of the pathobtained through monitoring to the communication module 70. Thecommunication module 70 acquires information indicating the status ofthe path from the field wireless management station 60. Thecommunication module 70 monitors the status of a communicationconnection with the field wireless management station 60 and generatesinformation indicating the status of the path obtained throughmonitoring.

The communication module 70 updates the status of the path of thetemporary information t2 stored in the temporary information storage 700according to the acquired information indicating the status of the pathand the generated information indicating the status of the path.

The path alarm generator 102 of the alarm generator 100 of the safetycontrol station 10 acquires information indicating the status of thepath from the temporary information t2 stored in the temporaryinformation storage 700 of the communication module 70. The path alarmgenerator 102 updates the status of the path of the alarm commoninformation t1 stored in the alarm common information storage 101 of thealarm generator 100 according to the acquired information indicating thestatus of the path. At this time, the path alarm generator 102 detectsthe occurrence of a path abnormality by recognizing that the informationindicating the status of the path of the alarm common information t1 hasbeen updated from a state indicating normality to a state indicatingabnormality.

As described above, the alarm generator 100 detects that a safetycommunication abnormality and a path abnormality have occurred with thesafety layer 103 and the path alarm generator 102.

The alarm generator 100 generates alarm information of safetycommunication on the basis of the value of the item of the status of thesafety communication and the value of the item of the tag associatedwith the item of the status of the safety communication. The alarmgenerator 100 generates alarm information of a path on the basis of thevalue of the item of the status of the path and the value of the item ofthe tag associated with the item of the status of the path.

If it is detected that the safety communication status has been updatedfrom the normal status to the abnormal status in the alarm commoninformation t1, the alarm generator 100 generates alarm information forproviding a notification of the occurrence of the safety communicationabnormality. If it is detected that the status of the safetycommunication has been updated from the abnormal status to the normalstatus in the alarm common information t1, the alarm generator 100generates alarm information for providing a notification of restorationfrom the safety communication abnormality.

If it is detected that the status of the path has been updated from thenormal status to the abnormal status in the alarm common information t1,the alarm generator 100 generates alarm information for providing anotification of the occurrence of the path abnormality. If it isdetected that the status of the path has been updated from the abnormalstatus to the normal status in the alarm common information t1, thealarm generator 100 generates alarm information for providing anotification of the restoration from the path abnormality.

The alarm generator 100 transmits the generated alarm information of thesafety communication and the generated alarm information of the path tothe operation monitoring terminal 20 via the control bus.

The operation monitoring terminal 20 acquires alarm information ofsafety communication and alarm information of a path from the alarmgenerator 100 of the safety control station 10 via the control bus. Theoperation monitoring terminal 20 causes the monitor 200 to display theacquired alarm information of the safety communication and the acquiredalarm information of the path.

An example of alarm information displayed on the monitor 200 will bedescribed below.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an alarm informationdisplay screen s1 displayed on the operation monitoring terminal 20 ofthe safety control system 1 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown, safety communication alarm information indicating the“occurrence of safety communication abnormality with Tag C (error code:timeout)” and path abnormality alarm information indicating the“occurrence of path abnormality with Tag C (error code: ISA 100.11acommunication abnormality)” are displayed on the alarm informationdisplay screen s1.

In the safety control system 1 a according to the present embodiment,the tag information defined in the alarm common information t1 (“Tag C”in FIG. 4) is output as described above. Thereby, the user (theoperator) can recognize that the safety communication alarm informationand the path alarm information displayed on the monitor 200 of theoperation monitoring terminal 20 are alarm information generated on thebasis of the same event (for example, the occurrence of a pathabnormality).

In the safety control system 1 a according to the present embodiment, asdescribed above, error codes generated in detection of a safetycommunication abnormality and detection of a path abnormality areoutput. Thereby, the user can narrow down a position where theoccurrence of the abnormality is caused.

For example, because the user can recognize that a safety communicationabnormality associated with “Tag C” has occurred from the alarminformation shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to recognize that the safetycommunication abnormality has occurred between the field wireless device40-3 with safety communication function and the safety control station10 shown in FIG. 1. Here, in the alarm common information t1, “Tag C” isassumed to be associated with the field wireless device 40-3 with safetycommunication function.

Furthermore, the user can recognize that a path abnormality in “ISA100.11a” has occurred from the alarm information shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a position of theoccurrence of an abnormality identified by the safety control system 1 aaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. As describedabove, the user can recognize from the alarm information shown in FIG. 4that a safety communication abnormality has occurred between the fieldwireless device 40-3 with safety communication function and the safetycontrol station 10 and that the path abnormality in “ISA 100.11a” hasoccurred, thereby narrowing down the identification of the position ofthe path abnormality. In this case it is possible to identify that thepath abnormality has occurred in any one of ranges of an area r1 shownin FIG. 5.

[Operation of Safety Control Station]

Hereinafter, the operation of the safety control station 10 will bedescribed.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a flowchart showing the operation of the safetycontrol station 10 of the safety control system 1 a according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing the operation of the safety controlstation 10 when the status of the path is acquired. For example, theprocess of the present flowchart is started periodically (for example,every 250 milliseconds) on the basis of an instruction from a timer (notshown) provided in the safety control station 10.

(Step S001) The path alarm generator 102 of the alarm generator 100acquires information indicating the status of the path from thetemporary information t2 stored in the temporary information storage 700of the communication module 70. Thereafter, the process proceeds to stepS002.

(Step S002) The path alarm generator 102 of the alarm generator 100updates information indicating the status of the path of the alarmcommon information t1 stored in the alarm common information storage 101according to the information indicating the status of the path acquiredin step S001. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S003.

(Step S003) The alarm generator 100 recognizes that a path abnormalityis detected by searching for the status of the path indicating the pathabnormality in the alarm common information t1 stored in the alarmcommon information storage 101. If the path abnormality is detected, theprocess proceeds to step S004. Otherwise, the process of the presentflowchart ends.

(Step S004) In the alarm common information t1 stored in the alarmcommon information storage 101, the alarm generator 100 acquires taginformation associated with the status of the path indicating that thepath abnormality has been detected. Thereafter, the process proceeds tostep S005.

(Step S005) The alarm generator 100 generates path alarm information towhich the tag information acquired in step S004 is added. The alarmgenerator 100 outputs the generated alarm information to the operationmonitoring terminal 20 via the control bus.

The process of the present flowchart is completed.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing the operation of the safety controlstation 10 when the status of the safety communication is acquired. Forexample, the process of the present flowchart is started periodically(for example, every 250 milliseconds) on the basis of an instructionfrom a timer (not shown) provided in the safety control station 10.

(Step S011) The safety layer 103 of the alarm generator 100 acquiresinformation indicating the status of safety communication with the fieldwireless device 40 with safety communication function via the blackchannel. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S012.

(Step S012) The safety layer 103 of the alarm generator 100 updatesinformation indicating the status of the safety communication in thealarm common information t1 stored in the alarm common informationstorage 101 according to the information indicating the status of thesafety communication acquired in step S011. Thereafter, the processproceeds to step S013.

(Step S013) The alarm generator 100 recognizes that the safetycommunication abnormality has been detected by searching for the statusof the safety communication indicating the safety communicationabnormality in the alarm common information t1 stored in the alarmcommon information storage 101. If the safety communication abnormalityhas been detected, the process proceeds to step S014. Otherwise, theprocess of the present flowchart ends.

(Step S014) In the alarm common information t1 stored in the alarmcommon information storage 101, the alarm generator 100 acquires the taginformation associated with the status of the safety communicationindicating that the safety communication abnormality has been detected.Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S015.

(Step S015) The alarm generator 100 generates safety communication alarminformation to which the tag information acquired in step S014 is added.The alarm generator 100 outputs the generated alarm information to theoperation monitoring terminal 20 via the control bus.

Accordingly, the process of the present flowchart is completed.

As indicated by the above-described operation, the path alarm generator102 and the safety layer 103 of the safety control station 10 separatelyoperate and provide a notification of an alarm as necessary.

[Determination Logic of Event Used by Operator]

Hereinafter, a determination logic used by the operator when an eventwhich has occurred is determined in a case in which the safety controlsystem 1 a provides a notification of alarm information will bedescribed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the determination logic to be used by theoperator when an event is determined on the basis of alarm informationprovided through a notification of the safety control system 1 aaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. The presentflowchart is started when the operation monitoring terminal 20 acquiresalarm information from the safety control station 10.

(Step S101) The operation monitoring terminal 20 provides a notificationof the alarm information by casing the monitor 200 to display theacquired alarm information. Thereafter, the process proceeds to stepS102.

(Step S102) If the alarm information provided through the notificationin step S102 is alarm information of a safety communication abnormality,the process proceeds to step S113. Otherwise, the process proceeds tostep S103.

(Step S103) When the alarm information provided through the notificationin step S102 is path abnormality alarm information, the process proceedsto step S105. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S104.

(Step S104) The operator recognizes that the alarm information is otheralarm information which is not alarm information based on a safetycommunication abnormality and a path abnormality and performstroubleshooting according to other alarm information provided throughthe notification. Thus, the determination of the event by the operatorbased on the present flowchart ends.

(Step S105) If the notification of the alarm information of the safetycommunication abnormality is provided together with the alarminformation provided through the notification in step S102, the processproceeds to step S106. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S109.

(Step S106) If the alarm information of the path abnormality is a pathabnormality related to the safety communication (that is, if the sametag information is added to the alarm information of the path and thealarm information of the safety communication), the process proceeds tostep S107. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S108.

(Step S107) The operator determines that the event 1 has occurred andperforms troubleshooting for the event 1. The details of each event willbe described below. Thus, the determination of the event by the operatorbased on the present flowchart ends.

(Step S108) The operator determines that the event 2 has occurred, andperforms troubleshooting for the event 2. Thus, the determination of theevent by the operator based on the present flowchart ends.

(Step S109) The operator waits until the safety communication is timedout. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S110.

(Step S110) If the notification of a safety communication abnormalityalarm related to the path abnormality has been provided, the processproceeds to step S111. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S112.

(Step S111) The operator determines that the event 3 has occurred andperforms troubleshooting for the event 3. Thus, the determination of theevent by the operator based on the present flowchart ends.

(Step S112) The operator determines that the event 4 has occurred, andperforms troubleshooting for the event 4. Thus, the determination of theevent by the operator based on the present flowchart ends.

(Step S113) If a notification of the alarm information of the pathabnormality related to the alarm information of the safety communicationabnormality provided through the notification has been provided (i.e.,if the notification of the alarm information of the path abnormality towhich the same tag information as the tag information added to the alarminformation of the safety communication is added has been provided), theprocess proceeds to step S114. Otherwise, the process proceeds to stepS115.

The present flowchart does not contain a determination logic for anoperator to wait until a notification of a path abnormality alarm isprovided because a notification of a path abnormality alarm to beprovided when the path abnormality occurs is usually providedimmediately after the occurrence of the path abnormality. However, ofcourse, it is possible to place a logic for waiting for a predeterminedtime until a path abnormality alarm occurs in the present flowchart.

(Step S114) The operator determines that the event 5 has occurred andperforms troubleshooting for the event 5. Thus, the determination of theevent by the operator based on the present flowchart ends.

(Step S115) The operator determines that the event 6 has occurred andperforms troubleshooting for the event 6.

Thus, the determination of the event by the operator based on thepresent flowchart ends.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of details of the eventdetermined by the determination logic shown in FIG. 7.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the above-described events 1 to6 is an event of details indicating that the event 1 is an event ofdetails indicating a “safety communication abnormality due to a pathabnormality has occurred”, the event 2 is an event of details indicatingthat a “path abnormality which does not directly affect safety data hasoccurred”, and the event 3 is the same as the event 1, the event 4 isthe same as the event 2, the event 5 is the same as the event 1, and theevent 6 is an event of details indicating that a “path is normal, but asafety communication abnormality has occurred”.

The above-described safety data is, for example, a process valuemeasured by the field wireless device 40 with safety communicationfunction. Also, the path abnormality which does not directly affect theabove-described safety data represents an abnormality of a path which isnot used for acquiring the safety data.

Path abnormality miss notification is, for example, notifying the safetycontrol station 10 that the communication module 70 malfunctions and apath in the normal state is abnormal or the like.

According to the safety control system 1 a according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to reduce a load on the operator required forthe determination in steps S105, S106, and S113 in the flowchart showingthe determination logic shown in FIG. 7.

Second Embodiment

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of asafety control system 1 b according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention.

A configuration of the safety control system 1 b according to thepresent embodiment is different from the configuration of the safetycontrol system 1 a according to the first embodiment described above inthat each of the field wireless device 40 with safety communicationfunctions with which the safety control station 10 communicates haspriority which is preset.

The “priority” described here refers to how important the datatransmitted from the field wireless device 40 with safety communicationfunction (for example, a measurement value of a sensor) is (i.e.,whether an alarm is an alarm with a higher degree of importance).

As shown in FIG. 9, for example, a “low priority” is set in the fieldwireless device 40 p-1 with safety communication function and the fieldwireless device 40 p-2 with safety communication function, and a “highpriority” is set in the field wireless device 40 q-1 with safetycommunication function and the field wireless device 40 q-2 with safetycommunication function.

In the alarm common information storage 101 of the alarm generator 100of the safety control station 10 according to the present embodiment,priority information t3 in which the item of the type of data and theitem of the priority are associated is pre-stored in addition to thealarm common information t1.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the priorityinformation t3 stored in the safety control station 10 of the safetycontrol system 1 b according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown, the priority information t3 is two-dimensional tabular data inwhich two items such as a priority (a “low priority” or a “highpriority”) and data (“Data 1”, “Data 3”, “Data 2”, “Data 4”, or thelike) are associated. That is, the priority information t3 shown in FIG.10 indicates that “Data 1”, “Data 3”, or the like is set as low-prioritydata and “Data 2”, “Data 4”, or the like is set as high-priority data.

When the alarm information is output to the operation monitoringterminal 20, the safety control station 10 acquires informationindicating a priority (a “low priority” or a “high priority”) associatedwith a value of the item of the type of data associated with the alarminformation to be output (for example, “Data 1”, “Data 2”, or the like)from the priority information t3 and outputs alarm information includingthe acquired information indicating the priority to the operationmonitoring terminal 20.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an alarminformation display screen s2 displayed on the operation monitoringterminal 20 of the safety control system 1 b according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

When alarm information is acquired from the safety control station 10,the operation monitoring terminal 20 groups the acquired alarminformation on the basis of information indicating a priority added tothe acquired alarm information. The operation monitoring terminal 20causes the monitor 200 to display the alarm information for each group(for each priority), for example, as in the alarm information displayscreen s2 shown in FIG. 11.

According to the above configuration, the safety control system 1 baccording to the second embodiment can present an abnormality and apriority for executing troubleshooting to the user (the operator), sothat the user can perform troubleshooting for a generated event moreappropriately (for example, in a more appropriate order).

Third Embodiment

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of asafety control system 1 c according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention.

The configuration of the safety control system 1 c according to thepresent embodiment is different from the configuration of the safetycontrol system 1 a according to the first embodiment described above inthat a field wireless management station 60 is installed for each areaand the field wireless management station 60 manages a field wirelessaccess point 50 and a field wireless device 40 with safety communicationfunction within an area under control.

As shown in FIG. 12, for example, a field wireless device 40 a-1 withsafety communication function, a field wireless device 40 a-2 withsafety communication function, a field wireless access point 50 a, and afield wireless management station 60 a for managing them are installedin an area A. For example, a field wireless device 40 b-1 with safetycommunication function, a field wireless device 40 b-2 with safetycommunication function, a field wireless access point 50 b, and a fieldwireless management station 60 b for managing them are installed in thearea B.

In addition to the alarm common information t1, area information t4 inwhich an item of a type of data and an item of an area are associated ispre-stored in the alarm common information storage 101 of the alarmgenerator 100 of the safety control station 10 according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of areainformation t4 stored in the safety control station 10 of the safetycontrol system 1 c according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown, the area information t4 is two-dimensional tabular data inwhich two items of an area (“Area A” or “Area B”) and data (“Data 1”,“Data 2”, “Data 3”, “Data 4”, or the like) are associated. That is, thearea information t4 shown in FIG. 13 indicates that “Data 1”, “Data 2”,and the like are set in association with Area A and “Data 3”, “Data 4”,and the like are set in association with Area B.

When the alarm information is output to the operation monitoringterminal 20, the safety control station 10 acquires informationindicating an area associated with a value of a type of data associatedwith alarm information to be output (for example, “Data 1” or “Data 2”)(“Area A” or “Area B”) from the area information t4 and outputs alarminformation including the acquired information indicating the area tothe operation monitoring terminal 20.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an alarminformation display screen s3 displayed on the operation monitoringterminal 20 of the safety control system 1 c according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

When the operation monitoring terminal 20 acquires the alarm informationfrom the safety control station 10, the acquired alarm information isgrouped for each area on the basis of information indicating the areaadded to the acquired alarm information. The operation monitoringterminal 20 causes the monitor 200 to display alarm information for eachgroup (each area), for example, as in the alarm information displayscreen s3 shown in FIG. 14.

According to the above configuration, because the safety control system1 c according to the third embodiment can present the occurrence of anabnormality and an area where the abnormality has occurred to the user(the operator), the user can more quickly identify the area where theabnormality has occurred and more appropriately perform troubleshootingfor a generated event.

Fourth Embodiment

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

When an abnormality cause is removed by performing troubleshooting,notifications of restoration alarms related to the abnormality cause maybe simultaneously provided. The safety control station according to thepresent embodiment includes a restoration controller (not shown). On thebasis of the tag information set in the alarm common information, therestoration controller (not shown) groups the restoration alarms relatedto the same abnormality cause and outputs restoration alarm informationincluding information indicating the grouping to the operationmonitoring terminal.

Thereby, the operation monitoring terminal can group restoration alarmsrelated to the same abnormality cause to cause the monitor to displaythe grouped restoration alarms. The operation monitoring terminaldisplays am interface of an Ack operation (an approval operation of theoperator who approves the restoration) (for example, an approval button)for each group, so that the operator can collectively perform Ackoperations on all restoration alarms related to the same abnormalitycause.

When information indicating the collective restoration approval based onthe above-described Ack operation is acquired, the restorationcontroller (not shown) causes a value of an item of a status of safetycommunication and a value of an item of a statue of a path associatedwith the collective restoration approval to be updated (causes thestatus to be updated to a normal status) in the alarm commoninformation.

The restoration controller may cause the alarm common information aboutthe restoration alarm related to the same abnormality cause to beautomatically updated to a normal status on the basis of tag informationset in the alarm common information and to be automatically restoredwithout causing the alarm common information to be updated to the normalstatus on the basis of the acquisition of information indicating acollective restoration approval based on the Ack operation as describedabove.

According to the above configuration, because the safety control systemaccording to the fourth embodiment can provide the user (the operator)with an interface for collectively performs the Ack operations on therestoration alarms related to the same abnormality cause, the user canmore easily perform the Ack operations.

Fifth Embodiment

Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

If a path abnormality has occurred, safety communication also becomesabnormal due to the path abnormality. However, in this case, there maybe a time lag between the occurrence of the path abnormality and theoccurrence of the safety communication abnormality. Thus, according tothe safety control system according to the present embodiment, becauseit is possible to associate the path abnormality and the safetycommunication abnormality caused by the same cause, a configuration inwhich a safety control station causes a pre-notification alarm forproviding a pre-notification of a safety communication abnormalityestimated to occur thereafter to be generated when a path abnormalityoccurs can be adopted.

By providing the notification of the pre-notification alarm of theoccurrence of the safety communication abnormality, for example, theoperator can prepare for curing work when the safety communicationabnormality occurs. Thereby, according to the safety control system ofthe present embodiment, the user can cope with the safety communicationabnormality more quickly.

Sixth Embodiment

Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

Although a user (an operator) sets alarm common information according toan engineering function in the above-described embodiment, the safetycontrol station automatically may set the alarm common information. Thesafety control station performs a process of determining that aplurality of pieces of alarm information are alarm information of anotification provided by the same cause and the safety control stationassigns a common identifier to a plurality of pieces of alarminformation determined to be the alarm information of the notificationprovided by the same cause.

Thereby, the safety control system according to the present embodimentcan cause the monitor of the operation monitoring terminal to display aplurality of piece of alarm information of a notification provided dueto the same cause by using a user interface with which the user (theoperator) can easily perform association.

As described above, the safety control system according to theembodiment of the present invention described above can outputinformation associated with notification information generated bydifferent detection logics with respect to the same event.

Although it is assumed that PROFIsafe (registered trademark) is used forsafety communication and PROFINET (registered trademark) and ISA 100.11aare used for the black channel in the above-described embodiment, thepresent invention is not an invention using characteristics of thesecommunication protocols. Therefore, the present invention can be appliedto any system using any communication protocol as long as it is a systemfor providing notifications of a plurality of types of alarms for thesame cause.

A part or all of the safety control system in the above-describedembodiment may be implemented by a computer. In this case, a controlfunction thereof may be implemented by recording a part or all of aprogram for implementing the control function on a computer-readablestorage medium and causing a computer system to read and execute theprogram recorded on the storage medium.

The “computer system” described here is assumed to be a computer systemembedded in the safety control system and include an operating system(OS) and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readablestorage medium” refers to a storage device including a flexible disk, amagneto-optical disc, a read only memory (ROM), a portable medium suchas a compact disc (CD)-ROM, and a hard disk embedded in the computersystem.

Further, the “computer-readable storage medium” is assumed to include acomputer-readable storage medium for dynamically holding a program for ashort time as in a communication line when the program is transmittedvia a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as atelephone line and a computer-readable storage medium for holding theprogram for a predetermined time as in a volatile memory inside thecomputer system including a server and a client when the program istransmitted. Also, the above-described program may be used to implementsome of the above-described functions. Further, the program mayimplement the above-described functions in combination with a programalready recorded on the computer system.

A part or all of the safety control system in the above-describedembodiment may be implemented as an integrated circuit such as largescale integration (LSI). Each of the functional blocks of the safetycontrol system may be individually formed as a processor or a part orall thereof may be integrated into a processor. A method of forming anintegrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and may be implemented by adedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. When the technology ofan integrated circuit with which LSI is replaced emerges with theadvancement of semiconductor technology, the integrated circuit based onthe technology may be used.

What is claimed is:
 1. A notification control device, comprising: afirst communication status detector configured to detect a status of afirst communication protocol of communication between a first device anda second device in a process control system; and a second communicationstatus detector configured to detect a status of a second communicationprotocol different from the first communication protocol of thecommunication, wherein the first communication status detector isconfigured to input into an operation monitoring terminal firstnotification information to which tag information is added on the basisof notification common information in which a status of the firstcommunication protocol, a status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information are associated and the detected status of thefirst communication protocol, and wherein the second communicationstatus detector is configured to input into the operation monitoringterminal second notification information to which the tag information isadded on the basis of the notification common information and thedetected status of the second communication protocol.
 2. Thenotification control device according to claim 1, wherein the status ofthe first communication protocol detected by the first communicationstatus detector and the status of the second communication protocoldetected by the second communication status detector are statuses basedon the same condition of the communication.
 3. The notification controldevice according to claim 1, wherein the first device is a controllerand the second device is a field device.
 4. The notification controldevice according to claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol isa communication protocol of safety communication, and wherein the firstcommunication status detector is configured to detect a status of thesafety communication.
 5. The notification control device according toclaim 1, wherein the second communication status detector is configuredto detect a status of a communication path in the communication.
 6. Thenotification control device according to claim 1, further comprising: analarm generation pre-notifier configured to generate a pre-notificationalarm indicating a pre-notification of the status of the firstcommunication protocol on the basis of the tag information associatedwith the status of the second communication protocol in a case where thesecond communication status detector has detected the status of thesecond communication protocol.
 7. The notification control deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a common information automaticsetter configured to determine whether or not notifications of thedetected status of the first communication protocol and the detectedstatus of the second communication protocol have been provided due tothe same cause and add common tag information with respect to thedetected status of the first communication protocol and the detectedstatus of the second communication protocol in a case where the commoninformation automatic setter determines that the notifications have beenprovided due to the same cause.
 8. The notification control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein information indicating a notificationpriority on the basis of the first notification information or thesecond notification information is further associated with thenotification common information.
 9. The notification control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein information indicating an area where thesecond device is installed is further associated with the notificationcommon information.
 10. The notification control device according toclaim 1, further comprising: a restoration controller configured tocollectively update the first notification information and the secondnotification information generated on the basis of the status of thefirst communication protocol and the status of the second communicationprotocol associated with the same tag information.
 11. A notificationcontrol system comprising a first device, a second device, anotification control device, and an operation monitoring terminal in aprocess control system, wherein the notification control devicecomprises: a first communication status detector configured to detect astatus of a first communication protocol of communication between thefirst device and the second device; and a second communication statusdetector configured to detect a status of a second communicationprotocol different from the first communication protocol of thecommunication, wherein the first communication status detector isconfigured to input into the operation monitoring terminal firstnotification information to which tag information is added on the basisof notification common information in which a status of the firstcommunication protocol, a status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information are associated and the detected status of thefirst communication protocol, and wherein the second communicationstatus detector is configured to input into the operation monitoringterminal second notification information to which the tag information isadded on the basis of the notification common information and thedetected status of the second communication protocol.
 12. Thenotification control system according to claim 11, further comprising: acommunication module configured to store the status of the secondcommunication protocol, wherein the second communication status detectoris configured to refer to the status of the second communicationprotocol stored in the communication module to detect the status of thesecond communication protocol.
 13. The notification control systemaccording to claim 11, further comprising: an engineering terminalconfigured to associate the status of the first communication protocol,the status of the second communication protocol, and the taginformation.
 14. A notification control method using a computer,comprising: detecting a status of a first communication protocol ofcommunication between a first device and a second device in a processcontrol system; detecting a status of a second communication protocoldifferent from the first communication protocol of the communication;inputting into an operation monitoring terminal first notificationinformation to which tag information is added on the basis ofnotification common information in which a status of the firstcommunication protocol, a status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information are associated and the detected status of thefirst communication protocol; and inputting into the operationmonitoring terminal second notification information to which the taginformation is added on the basis of the notification common informationand the detected status of the second communication protocol.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a notificationcontrol program, which when executed by a computer, causes the computerto perform; detecting a status of a first communication protocol ofcommunication between a first device and a second device in a processcontrol system; detecting a status of a second communication protocoldifferent from the first communication protocol of the communication;inputting into an operation monitoring terminal first notificationinformation to which tag information is added on the basis ofnotification common information in which a status of the firstcommunication protocol, a status of the second communication protocol,and the tag information are associated and the detected status of thefirst communication protocol; and inputting into the operationmonitoring terminal second notification information to which the taginformation is added on the basis of the notification common informationand the detected status of the second communication protocol.